@Jessica Hallom; Because VE & VJ-Day has nothing what so ever to do with the current crisis, my father almost gave his life for yours and my freedoms, he lost many regimental mates and school mates (in another regiment), he carried his physical and mental wounds for the rest of his life, so yes I will remember, although celebrate might be a little strong! Eeven without CV19 I would not be partying but reflecting, as I did in 1995 [1] -and so should you, for without VE-Day you would not have the freedom of speech you have.

[1] strange but I have no recollection of any VE-Day celebrations in 1970, the 25th anniversary. Might we only need to have such a one-nation “knees-up” when the nation is troubled, as it is today, even without CV19, and as it was in 1995?

Agreed – and on the radio earlier a man was saying how sad it is to see ex-forces homeless on the street . . . . . .Meanwhile Border farce ferry people in for a free life. with many of their family to come shortly after. Those who fought to keep this country free did so in vain.

not the people Martin, the pretend to be Brexit seekers in Government, Judiciary, Media who have found any excuse not to just walk away – which is what the majority wanted all along.
The EU is perfectly happy to shore up the joke of a budget by the UK’s £1bn per month.

I have similar feelings as Jessica.
I will and do salute all of the fallen in this Nation and in the US plus All those in the Commonwealth.

Quite how those in Government who have always given in to the EU , rolled over, and are now rolling over to the Chinese, we have already allowed them to build HS2, oh so we cannot stop that, the Chinese are doing it.

We cannot possibly stop them doing 5 G .

Why is it that I feel that this is yet another kick in the teeth to our very best and our longest standing friends , the non other than the 5 Eyes.

Why do I see the dead hand of May and Major and all the others including most civil servants. This is yet more betrayal be those we so depend on to do right by this nation.
I mean why were we short of sufficient hospital cloths, there was supposed to be sufficient for the next germ, some how we get caught by this germ war fair again, this is the third time is it not, and am I right in saying they have all come from China ?
I imagine there will again be No inquiry Ito this latest foul up ?

I have said before the gathering at the Cenotaph by all those in this Government a nd the previous Governments , to stand there with the real heroes ? Disgraceful

When was the last time anyone was brought to book for Treachery in Government?

Are you being ironic?
We shouldn’t have lost one life then for our politicians to give up our freedom later. The only relief I have is that at least those British lives lost saved other oppressed nations and people whose children don’t seem to mind other nations deciding the rules to live their lives by.

I’m afraid I’m actually shocked at the proposed extension to the lockdown, this cannot go on. We did not achieve VE Day by having a PM cowering in a cupboard. I’m really sorry that Boris has botched this so comprehensively. He has to go.

The men and women who fought in the last war would not have understood the irresponsible appeals to narrow and xenophobic Nationalism that animates the Conservative Party. The mendacious slurs against migrants and ethnic minorities ( many of whom are on today’s front line ) would have disgusted them.
The young men and women of the war and the young people today deserve better than this perpetual yesterday

I’m ashamed of our generation. In 1968 a flu swept through this land which killed 80,000. Astronauts on Apollo 8 took ill but continued their mission, three years later Americans landed on the moon, London never stopped swinging.

We have failed to protect the Chelsea Pensioners despite cowering in our caves and because of our gross incompetence.

I will remember them:
My father, who fended off the Italians, and the rather more brutal Africans on their side, whilst running a repair shop for tanks and trucks, and then running a PoW camp.
My mother, who was a single parent for 5 years whilst my father was away, and who was bombed twice.
My uncle, who flew into France on Lysanders.
My other uncle, who with appalling eyesight, served in the Home guard, and was the only one of my family to die in the war.
My father-in-law, who fought the Russians, escaped Katyn by the skin of his teeth, spent 2 years as a guest of “Uncle Joe” in Siberia, was freed by Churchill, and fought at Monte Casino with the Polish army.

VE 75th Anniversary today to remember those who sacrificed their today’s for our tomorrows.
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning we will remember them
We Will remember them!

Out of a lot of bad came a lot of good. Today we celebrate our hard won freedom and thank God for our parents generations.

One cannot underestimate what the previous two fantastic generations did and how close the world came to disaster and from which we can take heart. May the millions who died Rest in Peace and we cannot thank you and respect what you sacrificed for us all.

I am so grateful that I am as old as anyone who has never experienced war in Europe during their lifetime.

The sacrifices made by so many before I was born were immense. The true British sense of right and justice, fought for so hard by so many brave people must not be diminished by self-serving individuals now, whether they be in political power or have unjustified and unearned levels of influence through MSM.

There is a great future for all Britons, wherever they happen to be in the world. We must remain strong and steadfast, positive and optimistic. An undoubtedly different, but nevertheless rewarding and exciting, life awaits. Grasp it!

We must remember that neither Britain or her Dominions were attacked. We are not in the same category as the Russians or Poles. We fought for what we believe is our and humanities right! I’m very proud of that, and of my RN grandfather and his 1st WW friend, Queenie Claydon who worked their way back home from SA on a Union Castle line (because they were rejected as being too old when they volunteered) and joined the merchant navy where they made their contribution second time around, of my father who was on the training ship when war broke out, and who was a navigation officer in his teens, protecting convoys across the Atlantic and then into subs, of my uncle who signed up and was posted to the Bluff in Durban, deserted and signed up again in Johannesburg (with his uniform in his bag) under his mother’s maiden name. He fought in the desert.
They were nothing out of the ordinary, Britons stood up in their million, never whinged, did what was required and then a lot more.
And for what? Surrender to the EU – to Germany for Gods sake!
We were just able to hold our heads up when Boris put us all under house arrest.
Funny old world….

‘We must remember that neither Britain or her Dominions were attacked.’
Correct.
But we did have defence agreements in place with countries who Hitler’s German forces invaded.
Battle of Britain mean anything to you?

Destroyed by a penstroke because of a particularly virulent flu strain.
What a disaster.
Priti Patel Patel making another hollow pledge on the channel taxi service when another 60 professionals are ferried across.
If the Germans invaded today, no doubt the RN would be mobilized to assist.

I think Priti Patel means well, it’s just that the Home Office mandarins are used to running rings round the ministers sent to them. She tried, they squawked loudly in public, she got reined in. And so it goes.

Thanks to Alexander Johnson MP’s predecessor, we can no longer consider these people as ‘illegal’ immigrants. Personally I consider them criminals, as it is a crime to enter a foreign country without proper authorization. So by coming here in the way that they do they have committed a crime with the first footstep upon our shores. And nobody in government thinks it wrong. Shameful !

There WILL be a spike when they lift the lock down caused BY the lockdown (loss of immunity), it will be a spike in all sorts of illness (they will label covid 19) and thus justify us going back into lockdown (they have found the perfect trick).

I will never forget standing on the beach at Arromanches looking out at the remains of the Mulberry Harbour. Marvelling at how proud those brave, brave men would have been of the peaceful, prosperous, harmonious Europe we created in the 70 odd years from the end of the war until Brexit.

Most of us learned the lessons of their sacrifice. It’s a shame the hard right and hard left did not.

They fought..and we have to keep on fighting.
There is always an oppressor to defeat.
Vigilance is key and the EU taught our politicians to be unwary, weak, indecisive and untruthful and the people followed.
I imagine that those on the Left like the EU because it destroys nationalism.

Edward2, two things:
May I respectfully point out that Andy is only writing ‘hard right and hard left’, no mention of numbers.
May I as respectfully remind you that only some small(ish) activist minorities are needed to take the power. The Bolshevik party created in 1912 only had 100,000 members in November 1917. The Nazi party (created as the DAP in 1919) only had about 2 m members in 1933 (total population: 66 m). Even so either through a revolution or through successive votes (vote to the Nazi party: 1928, 2.6%; 1930, 18.3%, 1932, 37.3%, 1933, 43.9%) they got to power.

So Andy’s point is not ridiculous. It should be something that people should keep in mind.

I guessed you might join in hef.
Andy spoke of the hard right and hard left.
The elections since 1945 show no relish in the UK for electing extremist candidates from either side.
Andy’s point is ridiculous as can be shown by the way we vote and the way we continue to vote here in the UK.
Our record is clear.

Your historic examples from Russia and Germany are not related nor relevant.

bil
In your post which I have now deciphered from your Five word clue, you make three claims.
The first is correct.
In a post many days ago I wrote South Korea instead of saying Singapore.
I then posted, saying this was my error and stating I meant to say Singapore.

Your other two claims are completely wrong.
Firstly, in a post many days ago I did not say all British Empire territories were given independence freely.
But that many were and are still happy members of the Commonwealth.

Your third claim is also wrong.
I never said all 1000 illegal immigrants arriving dingies were Covid positive.
Just that there is no proper screening of them nor any requirements for them to quarantine.

Edward2, so my examples are not related nor relevant. Thanks for that.
Have you ever considered that the absence of openly extremists at Westminster is simply the result of the voting system. Could it be that thanks to it both main parties are simply incorporating their fringe members?
Do I understand correctly that for you it is a good thing?
To me it is clear that with a more proportional system (as in the European elections) the range of expressed opinions becomes much wider and more diverse. Is this good or bad?

Andy, You are the ideal candidate for Walther Funk’s post war European union project. Which is exactly what all the members of my family (four men) who saw service in WW2 fought against. They fought for national independence in Europe, not for your corrupt, anti-democratic EU empire.

70 years of harmony? You have a very poor memory.
Poland suffered 50 years of dictatorship from ’39 to ’89 under German & Russian dictators. So you don’t remember the tanks in the streets of Poznan during the Trade Fair in ’56? The Hungarian Uprising in ’56 which was crushed with 500,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers invading? You no doubt haven’t visited the House of Terror in Budapest to see what the Communists did later?. Or the crushing of the Prague Spring in ’68 again by Soviet tanks or the tanks patrolling the streets of Poland after Marshal Law was declared, with the secret police searching for Solidarity members, or the harrowing pictures of starving prisoners reminiscent of Auschwitz from the former Yugoslavia. or the annexing of the Crimea by Putin, the shooting down of a civilian plane crossing the Ukraine? ?Or don’t these countries count as being in your cosy vision of a harmonious & peaceful Europe because your eyes were shielded from them by the Iron Curtain?
Harmony in deed.

Unfortunately, the history of Europe isn’t really taught in our schools. Nor do our broadcasters pay the Continent much attention. They have always preferred going to America on lavish expenses.

The outrages you mention here – and they are the tip of the iceberg – are unknown to people like Andy. When the Russians won their bit of the war, they made sure all this sort of thing was suppressed, to the extent that a doctrine developed to establish that there are no enemies on the left.

Where have you been all these years?
I remember well my father being not pleased with me in November ‘56 as I had told him (at 5) that I loved the tanks. Years later he was still reminding me of this story, specially when after the ‘excitement’ of the French May ‘68 came the cold shower of Prague’s August ‘68.
I followed the Gdansk/Walesa /Solidarnosc saga and the Jaruzelski aftermath in the ‘80s.
So I agree it was not taught in schools (too recent) but there was not such a black-out on news from continental Europe for people like my father who wanted to know these things and was keen on sharing them every time there was a family reunion.
So to conclude it might have depended on your upbringing.

When I was 5, we were packing up parcels for the Hungarians. I wanted to put in my best toy, a beautiful rainbow humming top. But it was made in Russia so I was wracked with doubt. In the end it was sent. I have never stopped feeling guilty about our not being able to save them, which at that age I hoped we would. So maybe it did depend on one’s upbringing. All I know is, when I got to university no-one seemed to have a clue about any of it, including the dons. They did know about the Holocaust and South Africa, though, and, of course, America.

There will be a spike when they lift the lock down caused BY the lockdown (loss of immunity), it will be a spike in all sorts of illness (they will label covid 19) and thus justify us going back into lockdown (they have found the perfect trick).

I have studied the alleged pandemic and concluded almost all the deaths are caused by a combination of the lockdown, the ONS pushng the figures forward and people dying with this alleged virus, not from it.

As soon as the lockdown ends we will be able to see it was the lockdown causing the deaths. So will they ever end it?

This is a nightmare. It is going to end in world wide revolution. No one wanted that?

Free of speech (including of course the right to offend), freedom of choice in healthcare and education, freedom to travel, freedom to legally evict tenants who do not abide by their contracts or pay their rents, a full escape from the anti-democratic EU, freedom to watch TV without paying a BBC tax. Perhaps even the freedom to hire and fire freely as we think is best for the business. The freedom to use sensible cars, hearing and energy systems perhaps too.

My ancestors were encouraged to fight and die for their country and now if we call it our country we are called extreme far right – what has happened to my country England in my lifetime has been extreme – English people are set to be a minority in 40 years -This is the worst betrayal by our governments who are dancing to the ugly tune of the gloabalists

1. PATRIOTISM – love of country / the Fatherland. Patriotism is traditional Christian. That a country is blessed by God. The sort of patriotism Queen Elizabeth believed in and so many from WW2. Nationalism is secular.

2. WORK ETHIC. Great traditional Christian virtue. That people work hard and responsibly. Don’t take short-cuts. Look at the great success of The Quakers in Business.

3. PUBLIC DUTY. Related to patriotism and work ethic.

4. CHEERFULNESS. This one of most important traditional Christian virtues. How sour-faced people can be now.

5. STRONG FAMILY. Central traditional Christian virtue. Without it, society collapses. In old days, people relied on families in hard times, not the state (the ‘State’ is a modern, secular invention).

6. ARTS. Strong arts and architecture are key to traditional Christianity. Connected to work ethic (and patriotism). And that we should be creative here on Earth. So many great artists / architects were traditional Christians. Bach. Mozart. Leonardo. Fra Angelico. Sir Christopher Wren. List is endless.

7. SCIENCE. Strong science is key to traditional Christianity. Science is about exploring this world created by the divine and working out how to use it to man’s best advantage as steward of this world. So many scientists were devout Christians – Sir Isaac Newton (biblical scholar), Max Planck (founder of quantum mechanics), Mendel (Roman Catholic priest main founder of modern genetics). And so on.

8. EDUCATION. Strong education is key to traditional Christianity (and related to science and arts). Oxford and Cambridge both founded by traditional Christianity.

9. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS (MONARCH, PARLIAMENT, JUDICIARY etc). Key to traditional Christianity. Traditional Christianity isn’t just about Heaven but Earth too. One day Earth will be glorified. And we are meant to be stewards of this earth. Religion isn’t just something individual but part of a group too.

10. ESSENTIAL VIRTUES. And just basic things like trying to focus on MODESTY of character (i.e. not being a show off), LOVE (soft + tough, like defending oneself to the death for one’s family or country), PEACE, WISDOM, COURAGE, and so on.

I know that many more people from WW2 would appreciate what I am saying here than people today. We must all try and make our country beautiful / amazing, something like a Faberge Egg! Like we should be trying to do with ourselves as well as bringing the best out in others as well.

The next question is where do these great virtues of the Greeks and Roman comes from? From the animal world? I don’t think so. The animal world is a jungle – cut-throat and ruthless. But the human world isn’t or shouldn’t. We’re able to achieve extraordinary levels of humanity and culture and good will and so on.

There are studies showing that both in zoos and in the wild animals like chimpanzees ‘care for each other’. Desmond Morris’ ‘The Naked Ape’ already pointed that out in 1967.
I don’t care whether as a person you need religion for your own satisfaction and/or to ‘understand the world’.
Simply don’t try to proselytise.

Furthermore, you would sound less ridiculous if you were to recognise that other religions also encourage similar patterns to help ‘people living together’.
Don’t you think that putting, as you do, all these as Christian qualities displays a somewhat narrow sense of perspective?

True, though I am not quite sure how they managed to square (or compartmentalise) the two areas of evidence and belief myself. Perhaps they simply had too comply due to the politics of the time. Rather like the new climate alarmism group think religion now.

Sir Isaac Newton was a Biblical scholar. He didn’t have to go this far to prove anything. Mendel was a Catholic priest when priests often had a hard time trying to focus on the things like the study of science when their bishops wanted them to focus on being priests. Max Planck was a Christian at a time when ‘God is dead’ (Nietzsche).

Traditional Christians love science because they see it as divine in origin, and because the Earth is something sacred (will be glorified at end of time). And that there is a puzzle in it in a way that’s been put there by God for our enjoyment in resolving (joy is key in traditional Christianity). Also, science has been given to us as a gift in order for us to make use of and enjoy this Earth (in the right way), coming up with scientific inventions so that we can live easier and better and so on. Science also tells us about the rational side of God’s mind / the order of The Divine World.

Lastly, God is not confined by the Laws of Physics either (God created them!). He can bypass them if God wants to (that is not the same as breaking them). For example, I used to have really serious, debilitating arthritis in my lower back. So bad, my back would cave in after 15 minutes standing and I’d have to sit down. That’s how bad. Then one day, I visited a church off High St Ken, London, and I was cured of this debilitating arthritis there and then. It was a miracle. God bypassing, not breaking, the Laws of Physics to cure me.

Lastly, I’m more into arts than sciences (but love the sciences too just better at arts) but consider the cross-over between Science (/ Mathematics) and Arts – such as in Music – in particular of that of Bach – deeply Christian man.

Also, what are the Arts? Why do we find the music, say of Mozart (another Christian man) beautiful? What is beauty? Why do people find beauty in the natural world when there is no need for this beauty – for example, everyone finds the stars and gold beautiful but there is no need for these things to be beautiful.

Also how does man get to have free will? And experience what he considers to be spiritual? Also where does all this ‘stuff’ come from in existence? (Sure where does God come from? But that still doesn’t get rid of contradiction of why we have physical stuff in our universe at all. There had to be a beginning. How did stuff come into being at the beginning?’)

Lastly, I’d argue traditional Christianity provides the perfect package for individual people not just to be develop into and become beautiful spiritual and physical works of art – like a Faberge Egg – but also a country as a whole!

Boris on a Brexit wave, now gone, got a majority of about 7000. Raab 2,743
All hands on deck to defeat them at the next General Election campaigning for the Party most likely to overthrow their tyrannical rule. Will not be too difficult.

But the tories, who were handed a vast majority ( and yes..we breathed a sigh of relief) are ultra effective at destroying opposition parties. Unless of course our “democracy” is as fake as it seems.
Yes I know…the best of a bad lot.

We are having a street sing along. Keeping the social distancing rules of course. Most houses in our street have bunting and flags up including us. What our forefathers went through to give us our freedom is extremely humbling and we must never forget the sacrifices made for us to live our lives the way we can now.

To my knowledge not one person in the NHS was sacked, furlough or made redundant. No one in the NHS was asked to take a pay cut, restricted from promotion or restricted from taking to the media.
NHS staff did receive free car-parking, free public transport, free food and free mobile phone data
They’ve been calls for NHS to get a pay rise for their covid-19 work (empty wards and beds) and a constant reminder that they’re all heroes by the media

Its like a new religion however I don’t see anyone in the NHS doing anything above and beyond what they’re paid to do….and the senior doctors and nurses are very well paid

Is the open border in the Channel (and I expect at the airports) obligatory under the Withdrawal Treaty and enforced by the Joint Committee? Do government ministers consider it prescribed by the Global Compact on Migration? Why are they in favour of this never ending invasion?

Many in London would prefer to be celebrating the Decline and Fall of Europe rather than remember the sacrifices of those 75 years ago who thought they were fighting to stop Germany from over running Europe. I hate to think what my father & his colleges would think having given up their tomorrows for todays lot.

I to will be celebrating V.E. day but why are we not celebrating VJ Day on August 15th which was also a great victory but also the end of WW2, is there enough time for a celebration day to be organised

Meanwhile the British wise and highly educated ( probably Cambridge) Cabinet is thinking very carefully about allowing, yes they have the cheek to say “allowing” , yes “allowing” British people to hit a ball with a stick, two persons present only ,staying 2 meters apart in a quarter of an acre of grass. …in June subject to stupidity carrying on.

Hurry up! Children will see children online enjoying themselves. Will the Government close down the UK internet to stop us seeing what is happening in Europe and America and China and all round the world? I bet it has been discussed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Better for Government to stop shaming the UK”Best Health Service in the World” with continuing a lockdown policy which clearly has not worked. Are they waiting until it does “work” to prove their mental breakdown valid?
“tickets sellout for opening day, signaling pent up demand for theme parks
PUBLISHED FRI, MAY 8 20209:32 AM EDTUPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Sarah Whitten
@SARAHWHIT10
KEY POINTS
Tickets for Monday’s reopening of Shanghai Disney sold out within minutes.
Shanghai Disneyland, closed since Jan. 25, will be the first major theme park to reopen.
The park usually sees around 80,000 visitors per day, but the government has mandated Disney operate at 30% capacity, or about 24,000 visitors. “

Quite so. May I draw your attention to one instance in which we have yet to gain our full freedoms. It is freedom from the EU. We are still in the transition period.

My late mother’s estate is going through the probate process. She made the mistake of appointing a local firm of Solicitors as executor, which they took full advantage of. Their fee rate is £230 per hour plus £23 per telephone call in or out, plus £23 per letter written, plus a percentage of the house sale, plus a percentage of the shares sold. Nice work if you can get it.

The final straw came when the Solicitors wrote to me and my siblings asking us to authorise further work in order to comply with new regulations relating to money laundering. On investigation, it appears that these new regulations have come from the FCA as a result of a Directive from the European Commission. The timing of this Directive? It was issued on 10th January THIS YEAR, after our decision to leave the EU and after the Conservative Party won a landslide victory on a platform of getting Brexit done.

Please Sir John, use parliament to complain loud and long about the EC’s conduct in issuing this Directive (the FIFTH money laundering Directive) and about our Government and the FCA’s grovelling acquiescence.

About John Redwood

John Redwood won a free place at Kent College, Canterbury, and graduated from Magdalen College Oxford. He is a Distinguished fellow of All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has set up an investment management business, was both executive and non executive chairman of a quoted industrial PLC, and chaired a manufacturing company with factories in Birmingham, Chicago, India and China. He is the MP for Wokingham, first elected in 1987.